The CDA Foundation offers financial support to dental professionals and community-based organizations statewide that provide dental care to underserved communities. One of the ways the Foundation gives is through community and educational grants and awards, including the annual Student Loan Repayment Grant.

In 2010, Vanessa Franks, DDS, became the 11th recipient of the CDA Foundation’s Student Loan Repayment Grant — a flagship program that aims to offset some of the financial burden of student loan debt in exchange for a three-year commitment by recipients to care for the underserved. Describing herself as “a natural caretaker with a strong inherent motivation to enrich the lives of others,” Dr. Franks said a career in public health had been a longtime goal.

Recent dental school graduates and students who will soon graduate from dental school can apply now through July 31 for the CDA Foundation’s 2019 Student Loan Repayment Grant. Awarded annually, the grant provides up to $35,000 per year for a maximum of $105,000 in exchange for the recipient’s three-year commitment to care for the underserved. The application period closes at 11: 59 p.m., Wednesday, July 31.

Five months after the catastrophic Camp and Woolsey wildfires tore through more than 250,000 acres in Northern and Southern California, life and work are far from routine for dentists who lost their practices or homes — or both — in the fires. But many are beginning to find some semblance of daily structure and make long-term plans with the help of their colleagues and the dental community.

April 1 through June 30, CDA members or component dental society executive directors can nominate a California-licensed dentist for the 2019 CDA Foundation Humanitarian Award. Each year, the Humanitarian Award recognizes one individual for a lifetime of volunteer commitment and leadership that have had a broad impact on oral health and the improvement of the human condition.

Nonprofit organizations can apply now through March 31 for the CDA Foundation’s Dental Materials & Supplies Grant. In partnership with Henry Schein Cares, the program provides between $5,000 and $25,000 of in-kind goods per year for two years to selected organizations. These goods are deemed necessary for dental operations and oral health services.

The application deadline for the 2019 Dr. Arthur A. Dugoni Faculty Award has been extended to Tuesday, April 30. Each year, the CDA Foundation accepts applications for the Dugoni Faculty Award, named for Arthur A. Dugoni, DDS, MSD, and his vast accomplishments in dental education and organized dentistry. Applicants must hold a full- or part-time teaching position and be connected with a dental program associated with a California dental school.

From Sacramento to China, Herbert Yee, DDS, recipient of the 2018 CDA Foundation Humanitarian Award, has served his community through dentistry, mentoring, leadership and philanthropy. Dr. Yee, a CDA member for seven decades, practiced dentistry in Sacramento for 54 years and inspired many students, including 20 family members spanning three generations, to become dentists.

The CDA Foundation has named Andrea Ustarez, DDS, the recipient of its 2018 Student Loan Repayment Grant. Awarded annually to a recent dental school graduate, the grant assists with repayment of education loans in exchange for the recipient’s commitment to care for the underserved. Dr. Ustarez will receive up to $105,000 over three years to put toward repayment of her student loans while she realizes her goal of working in public health.

To help dental professionals in need, the CDA Foundation in early August established a Disaster Relief Grant for individuals — a one-time, single-installment grant that provides financial assistance of up to $5,000 for immediate and emergency needs (food, shelter, clothing, etc.) as a direct result of the 2018 California wildfires. Grant funds are still available.

Aisha Amin, DMD, was just beginning her career in community health when she received the CDA Foundation’s 2014 Student Loan Repayment Grant. The 2013 graduate of A.T. Still University, School of Health Management started practicing at Family HealthCare Network in the town of Woodlake in Tulare County and transferred in fall 2014 to the Visalia FHCN clinic, where she remains today. Over the last several years she has advanced from a general dentist to the assistant dental director and is now the network’s dental director.

Applications are being accepted as of May 1 for the CDA Foundation’s 2018 Student Loan Repayment Grant. Given annually since 2002, the grant program helps recent dental school graduates offset the financial burden of student loan debt while they pursue careers in public or community health. The award provides up to $35,000 per year and a maximum of $105,000 over three years to be applied toward repaying the dentists’ educational loan.

CDA members or component dental society executive directors are encouraged to nominate a California-licensed dentist for the 2018 CDA Foundation Humanitarian Award. Each year the Humanitarian Award recognizes an individual for his or her lifetime of volunteer commitment and leadership that has had a broad impact on oral health and the improvement of the human condition or for actions that have enabled the dental profession to respond more fully to the individual needs of people at the local, state, national or international level.

The CDA Foundation is now accepting applications for the 2018 Dental Materials & Supplies Grant. In partnership with Henry Schein Cares, this program supports nonprofit organizations with the dental supplies and materials they need to provide oral health services to underserved individuals in their communities.

The CDA Foundation is now accepting applications for the 2018 Dr. Arthur A. Dugoni Faculty Award. The Foundation presents the award annually to a faculty member affiliated with any of the six dental schools in California to acknowledge that individual’s exceptional leadership, innovation, collaboration, compassion, philanthropic spirit and integrity in dental education.

Not even an oral cancer diagnosis in 2012 could slow down Lester Low, DDS, recipient of the 2017 CDA Foundation Humanitarian Award. Early diagnosis and treatment helped Dr. Low beat squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue, but throughout his treatment he continued to volunteer his time and services for several organizations in the San Joaquin Valley, a few with which Low has been volunteering for more than 20 years.

Richard Fredekind, DMD, MA, executive associate dean at Pacific Dugoni School of Dentistry, has received the 2017 Arthur A. Dugoni Faculty Award in acknowledgment of his exceptional leadership, innovation, collaboration, compassion, philanthropic spirit and integrity in dental education. “This award will help me, and us, continue teaching students effectively,” says Fredekind, who hopes to apply the funds toward the purchase of technology.

For Daniel Ramirez, DDS, personally encountering barriers to care in his early years ignited a passion for health care and an appreciation for the importance of diversity within the field. Dr. Ramirez, recipient of the CDA Foundation’s 2017 Student Loan Repayment Grant, grew up with two siblings and a disabled mother whose income was more than 500 percent below the poverty level. But he says he now embraces this adversity.